Join the Centre for the Study of Democracy for a talk with Dr Mustafa Menshawy (Lancaster University): Gender, Politics and Diplomacy in the Arab World and Beyond.
The seeds of this project were planted on the streets of the Arab Spring. In 2011, while working as a BBC reporter covering anti-regime protests, Dr Menshawy heard demonstrators demanding not only the downfall of authoritarian leaders, but of their wives too. It left him with a puzzle: if first ladies are merely ceremonial figures standing beside powerful men, why were protesters so angry with them? A decade later, drawing on archives, fieldwork and interviews with people around leaders’ wives, Dr Menshawy revisits that puzzle by travelling to countries such as Egypt and Tunisia as well as by conducting interviews with those around first ladies of countries such as China. The talk explores how marriage, gender, glamour and political power intertwine at the heart of authoritarian rule, and how first ladies can both stabilise and destabilise regimes.
About the speaker
Dr Mustafa Menshawy is a Lecturer in Comparative Politics at Lancaster University. Before moving into academia (where he conducted his PhD at University of Westminster), he worked as a BBC correspondent covering politics and conflicts in the Middle East. His research focuses on authoritarianism, political discourse, gender and Middle East politics. He is the author of two books and around 20 academic articles, with his third book, First Ladies of Authoritarianism, forthcoming with Manchester University Press. He is also a recipient of the Lorenzo Natali Prize and Lancaster University’s Dean’s Award for Research.
Location
Westminster Forum, 5th floor, 32–38 Wells Street, London, W1T 3UW
The event will take place in person. If you have any questions, please email the seminar convener, Dr Matthew Fluck at [email protected].
About the centre
The Centre for the Study of Democracy (CSD), established in 1989, is based in the School of Social Sciences at the University of Westminster. At the Centre, academics working in politics and international relations undertake socially engaged, methodologically diverse and often interdisciplinary research that aims to address a range of critical political challenges in relation to democracy worldwide.
CSD has a longstanding international reputation for research excellence through a programme of publications, events and collaborations with academics, practitioners, policymakers, and activists. Research in Politics and International Studies at CSD was ranked 4th highest in the UK for impact in the Research Excellence Framework 2021.
The Centre has established numerous collaborations with scholars and universities around the world and has hosted encounters with public intellectuals including Luc Boltanski, Judith Butler, Stuart Hall, Bruno Latour, Richard Rorty, Quentin Skinner, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Charles Taylor, James Tully, and Michael Walzer. The CR Parekh lecture, instituted by Lord Bhikhu Parekh, has included lectures by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Arundhati Roy, and Ashis Nandy.
CSD recognises that responding to contemporary social and political challenges requires engagement beyond the academy, so actively welcomes dialogue and collaboration with researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and activists around the world. The Centre is directed by Professor Nitasha Kaul.
